, 1887-12-02
A CURE FOR POVERTY.
Richard A. Proctor's Plan for Preventing
It-Everybody Eats Too Much.

INlGlldIh a. lONlOI' III III al llGle, "A
Remedy for Poverty, " in The Cosmopoli-
tar Magazine, makes some original state
ments, which, if acted upon, might re-
duce the expenses of every household and
in so doing alleviate some of the poverty.
He finds that the dietary of soldiers,
sailors, artisans and prisoners in England
averages 143 ounces of solid and liquid
food consumed daily per man. This
amount modern doctors agree is in excess
of the real daily requirements of a
healthy man or woman, and that they
would thrive better and enjoy life better
on half the quantity.
During the Franco-Prussian war the
government, desiring to have their SOL
diers in prime condition, supplied TO zach
man daily a sausage, weighing one
pound, made Of pea flour, bacon, sage
and other ingredients. This was all the
solid food the army had during the ardu-
GUS campaign, yet they thrived and grew
fat, and worked harder and better han
when rations were more liberal.
The improvement in health, if this
forced regime is pursued, will be notice
able at once, and the expenses for eata-
bles reduced almost one-half. 1t will also
develop an appetite for plain and healthy
things, and the poor man will take more
delight in his frugal fare and experience
more gastronomic pleasure in its con-
sumption than the millionaire with all
his epicurean delicacies at command.
1t is urged that few people know what
an influence this o o question has had,
in determining the amount Of freedom
that the bulk of the community enjoys.
The difference in effects must be distin-
guished between mere cheapness of food
and abstemiousness in the use Of food
which enables men to put by a part Of
their earnings and 30 obtain independ-
ence.
1t is not desirable to live in a country
where life can be supported for n mere
nothing, because the incentive to labor is
lost and the people become lazy and i'm
provident. In illustration Of this, the
Peruvians and Mexicans of old times lived
chiefly on bananas, which grow as pro-
life as weeds. They throve for awhile
and multiplied, until the overproduction
of population brought them to "A most de-
graded condition.
The workingman ms not be able to
become u capitalist by such savings as
would result from halving-let us sup
pose-the amount of food that so many
in all classes consume to their detriment,
writes Mr.. Proctor, but the saving of two
or three dollars weekly in the expenses of
the w~orkingman and his family (sup-
posed to include two or three other work
ers) would signify in the course of only a
few years a sum which, to such n fam
lily, would be Of great importance, not
merely for what it could purchase, but
for the anXieties that it would remove,
even though for many years not a cent
of it were touched, and it underwent no
change but the increase resulting from
the steady accumulation Of interest.
1t may seem to many readers that all
this is very trite. 1t is nothing but the
old lesson that we can most Of us save a
portion of our expenses, and that small
savings, steadily made, mount up in the
long run to large sums. There may be
recognized, however, these points of nov
city iii what l have suggested:
First, the diminished outlay for food is
not only indicated us an effective remedy
against poverty, but as u means of Sc
curing improved health and longer lasting
life, and secondly, the indirect gain is
scarcely less han these direct advantages,
nay, may even be regarded as greater, if
we consider that life is scarce worth liv-
ing without freedom, and that there can
~ az ~ 'NAo 'NNll " llIc llttbb
form of government where the bulk of
the community is hampercd in means.
The effects, further, Of the diminished
struggle for life would be important, as
depriving capital of much of hat portion
of its control over labor which must be
regarded as unjust and injurious. Were
such care shown in the due limitation of
the food supplies of the bulk of the COM
munity as seems desirable, the steady
though slow accumulatlons of small cap
ital in the hands Of the many would in
the long run enable the working classes,
without strikes or other undesirable in
terruptions of the progress of trade, to
secure just w~ages-seeing that they would
no longer have occasion to make forced
sales of their labor, as practically they
now 50 often do.
In the curse of somewhat longer but
quite measurable time intervals there
would arise an appreciably more wen dis
tribution of capital than at present pre-
walls. Labor would rise in relative value,
while in absolute value capital would at
least not diminish, even if it did not ac-
tually increase.-New York journal.